I have been challenged in my faith many times over the course of my life,
I have stumbled, I have questioned, and I have grown through it all.
God has remained faith to me even when I haven't been.
I was in a discussion today with a man about sin.
We had differening opinions and what was and what wasn't a sin, without going into too much detail, I took a little more conservative approach while he went for more of a liberal standpoint.
He is a very intelligent man, well read and very quick and he brought up many reasonable questions, to which I had some replies, some opinions and some stock answers. All of which I trusted, few of which had been tried by fire.
He came then to the "7 Deadly Sins" and pointed to the fact that they are not addressed in the Bible.
Now I'll be the first to admit, though I am ashamed of it, I have not read my Bible cover to cover.
I trust in it, it's the Word of God.
That said, I couldn't tell you if they are or not.
However, he assured me they are not, we pressed on and he challenged me to explain how some of them were practical.
Practicality, it's a pretty broad term really. What is practical?
Is Pratical just another way to say easy.
We don't seem to like to do unpractical things, because it isn't normal, it takes us out of our comfort zone.
But is the call to act "Christ-like" an easy thing to pick up and run with?
We're called to set ourselves beyond reproach, not to be of this world, only in it.
Sin is of this world, it causes us to faulter. It causes us guilt and shame.
Guilt is a useless emotion, it's a tool for Satan and his minions.
We lose sight of God when we fall into sin, we turn a blind eye to the green pastures He offers us.
But The Lord is gracious and compassionate, He's slow to anger and rich in love and He constantly calls for us.
No man or woman is above sin, we all fall short, we all deal in sin, it is all around us, we sin constantly.
Yet does that give us an excuse not to fight?
Did Jesus ever say it was too hard?
We're called to be "Christ-like" people, it's not an easy call.
It's time to get off our high horses and crawl to the foot of the cross.
He will be waiting with open arms and a wash of forgiveness.
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent
Friday, 11 May 2007
Darkness Festers...And Fails
What does it mean to wrestle with your demons?
Is it just a phrase or does it have a deeper, more literal meaning?
I've been in Egypt a week now, and met some great people, some new friends and formed bonds I know will last for many years to come.
Through my encounters with new people I've learned more and more about myself and God is showing me my stregthens and weaknesses.
I've met a man who has wrestled with his demons in a very literal way, he's not only wrestled with them but he's walked with them. He used to call them, use them and abuse their powers. He was a dark man and he lived in the darkness.
But it seems that no matter how dark the room is, no matter how tightly the door is closed, God's light finds a way in.
He told me once, "I used to fight Jesus off with a stick, a stick with a nail in the end of it. I used to yell at Him to stay back, but He just kept coming. I kept swinging, but He just kept coming and finally He grabbed me and wrapped His arms around me."
He's never been the same since. He'll live with what he's done for the rest of his life, but he can take comfort in the fact that when he finally did ask for forgiveness of his sins, it was given to him.
He still sees the demons, but he doesn't bow.
In another conversation with me he turned to me and said, "It's very easy for me to believe in God because I've seen, I've seen both sides, I've been in the darkness, and yet God still found me, I don't have to believe, I know!"
So what does it look like to truely know God?
Many of us walk through life believing in God, trusting in Him, reading His word, seeing all that He created and living in the flesh that he knit together, but still many of us never hear the voice of God, we never see his angels, we live our lifes through faith.
We can take comfort in His word, we can take comfort in the historical facts that Jesus lived, but it takes more then that to walk through life.
It takes faith.
We can't even begin to understand the will of God, we can't begin to phathom is being and if we were to stand in His presense we would tremble and fall to our knees.
Yet what we do know is that God loves us, He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. He bore the wait of all our sins, past, present and future on His shoulders.
With that understanding, with that comfort, we can come to the cross, bow, acknowledge, pleed and find forgiveness.
Even a man so deeply rooted in sin that we walked and talked with demons and find salvation through the Son.
There is a war going on, we don't all see it, we can't all feel it, but it's there. It's a fight for our salvations, it's a fight for our lives. It goes on all around us and there are many casualities.
We need to pick up our arms and fight.
In the end God will win, there is no doubt about that.
However, where will you be when the dust settles?
The war is being fought for you, it rages on constantly.
We need to pick up our arms and fight for God.
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent
Is it just a phrase or does it have a deeper, more literal meaning?
I've been in Egypt a week now, and met some great people, some new friends and formed bonds I know will last for many years to come.
Through my encounters with new people I've learned more and more about myself and God is showing me my stregthens and weaknesses.
I've met a man who has wrestled with his demons in a very literal way, he's not only wrestled with them but he's walked with them. He used to call them, use them and abuse their powers. He was a dark man and he lived in the darkness.
But it seems that no matter how dark the room is, no matter how tightly the door is closed, God's light finds a way in.
He told me once, "I used to fight Jesus off with a stick, a stick with a nail in the end of it. I used to yell at Him to stay back, but He just kept coming. I kept swinging, but He just kept coming and finally He grabbed me and wrapped His arms around me."
He's never been the same since. He'll live with what he's done for the rest of his life, but he can take comfort in the fact that when he finally did ask for forgiveness of his sins, it was given to him.
He still sees the demons, but he doesn't bow.
In another conversation with me he turned to me and said, "It's very easy for me to believe in God because I've seen, I've seen both sides, I've been in the darkness, and yet God still found me, I don't have to believe, I know!"
So what does it look like to truely know God?
Many of us walk through life believing in God, trusting in Him, reading His word, seeing all that He created and living in the flesh that he knit together, but still many of us never hear the voice of God, we never see his angels, we live our lifes through faith.
We can take comfort in His word, we can take comfort in the historical facts that Jesus lived, but it takes more then that to walk through life.
It takes faith.
We can't even begin to understand the will of God, we can't begin to phathom is being and if we were to stand in His presense we would tremble and fall to our knees.
Yet what we do know is that God loves us, He loves us so much that He sent His Son to die on the cross for our sins. He bore the wait of all our sins, past, present and future on His shoulders.
With that understanding, with that comfort, we can come to the cross, bow, acknowledge, pleed and find forgiveness.
Even a man so deeply rooted in sin that we walked and talked with demons and find salvation through the Son.
There is a war going on, we don't all see it, we can't all feel it, but it's there. It's a fight for our salvations, it's a fight for our lives. It goes on all around us and there are many casualities.
We need to pick up our arms and fight.
In the end God will win, there is no doubt about that.
However, where will you be when the dust settles?
The war is being fought for you, it rages on constantly.
We need to pick up our arms and fight for God.
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent
Egypt...Where Worlds Collide
I'm staying in an area of Egypt, Maadi, largely populated by Europeans, Americans, Canadians, Aussies and Kiwis.
Some are here to make a buck, some are here to help. Some of them resist the local culture, some of them dive head first into it.
There are places here strictly devoted to certain groups of people, you have to 'be someone' or know someone to get in.
They are walled, they are guarded and they are exclusively, exclusive.
Yet down the street from all this money, refugees from Sudan, Nigeria, and everywhere else in Africa fight to get the basics.
Food, water, education does not come easy if you do not have money, if you do not have white skin.
The church here in Maadi is working for change, it's working for equality.
My time here has been largely spent in the schools for refugees.
These schools are dark buildings, where the water drips from the taps and the walls struggle to stay upright.
The books are old, tattered and outdated and the standard level of education is low.
The children struggle to learn, but the world seems to over power them.
You can't teach hungry children.
Maadi Community Church has recogized these problems and is fighting for and with these schools to bring them up and over the National bar.
My time has been spent catologing books as so we know which textbooks, work books and story books each school has.
But most importantly, a large amount of my time has been spent profiling children, assessing there level of comprehension, and the care that they receive.
Many of the children enter the schools and are thrust into a grade level that best suits their age grouping, not their education level, therefore these children begin a needless fight to stay a float in a curriculum that is already over there heads.
There is no thought of the long term effects these children will have on the world once they have grown and matured.
With the proper education these kids will thrive and accel in the world of tomorrow.
They will be able to support families of their own, hold jobs in a competitive market and advance in life.
Without this education, they will be thrust into the world, blind, alone and scared.
I have met seasoned teachers who have come to Cairo to help and found it overwhelming.
I have met members of relief organizations who don't know where to start.
In my opinion, it starts with the children and yes, it is overwhelming. But we can't leave it like we found it. It's our job to fight on behalf of those who can not fight for themselves.
Sometimes when you venture behind the walls of the clubs, these refugees become a topic of conversation, sometimes they are forgotten about.
Yet you walk not even 10 minutes down the road and you bump into the schools, the children, the struggle and you can't help but wonder why.
Cairo is an interesting place and I know God is showing me much through my time here.
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent
Some are here to make a buck, some are here to help. Some of them resist the local culture, some of them dive head first into it.
There are places here strictly devoted to certain groups of people, you have to 'be someone' or know someone to get in.
They are walled, they are guarded and they are exclusively, exclusive.
Yet down the street from all this money, refugees from Sudan, Nigeria, and everywhere else in Africa fight to get the basics.
Food, water, education does not come easy if you do not have money, if you do not have white skin.
The church here in Maadi is working for change, it's working for equality.
My time here has been largely spent in the schools for refugees.
These schools are dark buildings, where the water drips from the taps and the walls struggle to stay upright.
The books are old, tattered and outdated and the standard level of education is low.
The children struggle to learn, but the world seems to over power them.
You can't teach hungry children.
Maadi Community Church has recogized these problems and is fighting for and with these schools to bring them up and over the National bar.
My time has been spent catologing books as so we know which textbooks, work books and story books each school has.
But most importantly, a large amount of my time has been spent profiling children, assessing there level of comprehension, and the care that they receive.
Many of the children enter the schools and are thrust into a grade level that best suits their age grouping, not their education level, therefore these children begin a needless fight to stay a float in a curriculum that is already over there heads.
There is no thought of the long term effects these children will have on the world once they have grown and matured.
With the proper education these kids will thrive and accel in the world of tomorrow.
They will be able to support families of their own, hold jobs in a competitive market and advance in life.
Without this education, they will be thrust into the world, blind, alone and scared.
I have met seasoned teachers who have come to Cairo to help and found it overwhelming.
I have met members of relief organizations who don't know where to start.
In my opinion, it starts with the children and yes, it is overwhelming. But we can't leave it like we found it. It's our job to fight on behalf of those who can not fight for themselves.
Sometimes when you venture behind the walls of the clubs, these refugees become a topic of conversation, sometimes they are forgotten about.
Yet you walk not even 10 minutes down the road and you bump into the schools, the children, the struggle and you can't help but wonder why.
Cairo is an interesting place and I know God is showing me much through my time here.
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent
Tuesday, 8 May 2007
A Reflection From Egypt...
So I've been here for over a week now,
I've seen a lot of the sights, I've been exposed to the culture, there's been excitment, drama and action...
I could write a book, but a blog will have to do for now.
I've meet some great people here in Egypt, and they've kept me pretty busy in my down time...and that's a good thing. I like to stay busy, and social.
The other night we went to the bizzare downtown Cairo. Narrow streets, clogged with people and dust, with shop vendors every 5 meters.
There are a lot of things to see, and even if you're not into that kind of thing, it's an experiance.
The night consisted on myself and friends here (who happened to be women) walking, exploring and buying all sorts of loot.
It's a different culture here. Every store we past it was either, "I have what you looking for? What do you need?" or "Come here and I make very special price for you." To which we tended to have sarcastic replies.
They were in your face and they were physical, however, when I had had enough all I had to do is growl the word "Shokran" (Thanks but no thanks) and wave my hand and the men would back of with a "Sorry, sir."
The girls on the other hand had no such luck, no matter how forceful, no matter how frustrated they were, the sales men were relentless...I think this is why they brought me along.
After a short while, I would growl "Shokran" and every and anyone who approached us trying to sell something, at which point they backed off, it was then that the girls would decide if they wanted anything or not.
I must say it was kind of fun playing my authority roll but it got old quick.
The other part of going out with a bunch of women, is the fact that the men stare...
The metro (their equivilant to the skytrain/subway) ride there were men who sat down right next to the girls, uncomfortably close, and in the bizzare the men offered me camels to marry the women "I give you 200 camels for that one!" They would yell.
How is that right anywhere?
Cultures clash, and there seems to be little room to work inbetween...
Egypt has thus far been an amazing, eye-opening and testing experiance.
Only God could prepare me for what is happening here.
He is working here in Egypt, (He is working everywhere) it's strong here, you can feel it.
I look forward to the things the Father continues to teach me, and how He continues to mold me.
I hope all is well back home, I apologize for the lack of communication.
I'll work on staying on top of that from now on. It's daunting when I'm behind a couple days, so much happens in a day here.
I'll work on it.
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent
I've seen a lot of the sights, I've been exposed to the culture, there's been excitment, drama and action...
I could write a book, but a blog will have to do for now.
I've meet some great people here in Egypt, and they've kept me pretty busy in my down time...and that's a good thing. I like to stay busy, and social.
The other night we went to the bizzare downtown Cairo. Narrow streets, clogged with people and dust, with shop vendors every 5 meters.
There are a lot of things to see, and even if you're not into that kind of thing, it's an experiance.
The night consisted on myself and friends here (who happened to be women) walking, exploring and buying all sorts of loot.
It's a different culture here. Every store we past it was either, "I have what you looking for? What do you need?" or "Come here and I make very special price for you." To which we tended to have sarcastic replies.
They were in your face and they were physical, however, when I had had enough all I had to do is growl the word "Shokran" (Thanks but no thanks) and wave my hand and the men would back of with a "Sorry, sir."
The girls on the other hand had no such luck, no matter how forceful, no matter how frustrated they were, the sales men were relentless...I think this is why they brought me along.
After a short while, I would growl "Shokran" and every and anyone who approached us trying to sell something, at which point they backed off, it was then that the girls would decide if they wanted anything or not.
I must say it was kind of fun playing my authority roll but it got old quick.
The other part of going out with a bunch of women, is the fact that the men stare...
The metro (their equivilant to the skytrain/subway) ride there were men who sat down right next to the girls, uncomfortably close, and in the bizzare the men offered me camels to marry the women "I give you 200 camels for that one!" They would yell.
How is that right anywhere?
Cultures clash, and there seems to be little room to work inbetween...
Egypt has thus far been an amazing, eye-opening and testing experiance.
Only God could prepare me for what is happening here.
He is working here in Egypt, (He is working everywhere) it's strong here, you can feel it.
I look forward to the things the Father continues to teach me, and how He continues to mold me.
I hope all is well back home, I apologize for the lack of communication.
I'll work on staying on top of that from now on. It's daunting when I'm behind a couple days, so much happens in a day here.
I'll work on it.
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent
Wednesday, 2 May 2007
Pyramid, Camels And Mummies...A Typical Day In Egypt
So I've been here in Egypt a couple days now. Jetleg has worn off, I'm quickly getting used to the heat (it's 38 degrees here today...and it's going to get warmer over the next few days,) and I'm "finding" my way around town (there has been a lot of trail and error. The streets run in every direction in no particular order.)
I decided when I got here that I would do all the touristy stuff before I dug into my work here at Maadi church, so today was the day I ventured out to the pyramids.
The tour guide picked me up outside my apartment at 8 this morning. He was recommended by a women in the church here and he turned out to be a very nice man. His name was Ramone, and it turned out he had been working as a guide for 7 years. He knew his stuff.
After about a 45 minute drive, the tops of the pyramids became to show themselves above the skyline on Cairo.
It wasn't long before we hit the outskits of citylimits and were in the desert, the only thing standing between me and miles of sand and khamseens (sandstorms) were three rather large pyramids and a cat-like man.
Ramone told me all about the history of the pyramids, then before letting me go and take pictures he warned me about the local "business men" that preyed on tourists.
Almost as soon as he turned back to the car a several men came up to me, "Shokran," I said many times (meaning thank you but no thank you) and they slowly realized that I wasn;t wanting any of their trinkets.
I took out my camera and took a few photos, then another man came up to me with a smile, I knew he wanted my money.
"You should be in photo," he said, "I take your picture, you be with pyramid."
I chuckled and responded, "Ah, but you want money for it."
"No no no, I just take your picture," he said and reached for my camera.
I withdrew for a second. He was an older man, it's not like he could take it and run from me, besides military and "tourist police" were standing guard almost everywhere.
"Alright," I said handing him the camera, "but I have no money for you."
"No no money," he said and began to size up the shot. He knelt down and got up almost immedately, "You too close, not see pyramid. Come over to side, you get whole pyramid in picture." He began to walk away, my camera in hand.
I liked the idea of being in a picture with the pyramids, however I knew this man had something up his sleeve.
As we walked, another man came up to me, "Ah sir, you get picture taken?" It was his back up. "You with group?"
"Yes," I lied, "I should stay close stay close."
"Ah yes, you just be over here," he insisted. The other man still had my camera and he charged ahead.
We reached the edge of the pyramid and there were a couple camels standing there. Once again, I knew where this was going.
The man with my camera kept walking past the pyramid, right up to the camel riders, "Ah yes, you get picture here." The other man slapped a flase head garb on me. The man knelt down once again stood up, "You need camel, camel and pyramid for picture."
"No no no," I insisted but the camel was brought over and knelt down.
"Cheese!" the man said and the flash went off... 4 times!
"Now, you give me gift!" Stated the man with the camel, at which I refused. "I give you gift you give me gift!"
"If you give me that camel I will give you a big hug and that will be my gift to you," my humour was lost on him.
"You give me gift, English money."
To be quite honest, I was rather sick of the two men and reached into my wallet to see what I had. It was either a toonie and a 5 or British pounds...I opted for the Canadian. It which they looked at me disgustedly, yet reluctantly relinquished my camera.
I was out of there, the story and the photo only cost me $7CAN...It was almost a steal, plus I kept the head garb which they seemingly forgot about.
I snapped a couple more shots and headed back towards the car.
We drove to the next, slightly smaller pyramid, which I decided to venture inside for the mear price of 50 Egyptian Pounds (about $10 CAN).
It's a rather colstrophobic decent into the middle of the pyramid, at which I was crouching all the way down 35m into the based, which opened out into a cavernous room where the king (read mummy) was kept.
It was amazing, the sheer idea of the calculations, brute force and over all skill it took to build such an amazing stucture. Each stone is exactly the same size, tightly packed together. Thousands of years ago....Blows your mind.
As I snuck out of the pyramid into fresh air, (the air in the pyramid is hot and dry to preserve the mummy,) I reached the surface to find Ramone waiting eagerly with a camel and rider.
I hopped on for 40 pounds and rode a camel for about 15mins. It's a crazy little experiance, do it if you get a chance.
The sphinx was the next stop on our little tour, and again I could go on for awhile, but I'll spare you the details and show you the pictures instead,
So what else is there to see in Egypt you ask, how about the way ancient Egyptians made paper?
Papyrus paper is strong, woven and interlaid. It can be used as paper but is more often used as canvus. It's quite facinating. I bought a couple beautiful pieces.
And then the final sight, The Egyptian National Musuem, no cameras inside sorry, but there are some amazing sights. The Royal Mummies have two rooms. It's crazy to stare at their faces and think they were once living, breathing people who had talked, had thoughts, and in most cases ruled over Egypt.
Caught a train home, walked the half an hour walk home and then off to the church for an African service. The refugees in the area have bible study every Tuesday and Wednesday and start the study with an hour of pure cardio wroship, it amazing.
Finally, after all that, we had youth here tonight which I helped set up for. Quite an awesome youth group, not as good as home, but very good.
Now it's time for bed, off to the schools tomorrow to help out there for wee bit.
Thanks everyone and we'll talk to you soon.
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent
I decided when I got here that I would do all the touristy stuff before I dug into my work here at Maadi church, so today was the day I ventured out to the pyramids.
The tour guide picked me up outside my apartment at 8 this morning. He was recommended by a women in the church here and he turned out to be a very nice man. His name was Ramone, and it turned out he had been working as a guide for 7 years. He knew his stuff.
After about a 45 minute drive, the tops of the pyramids became to show themselves above the skyline on Cairo.
It wasn't long before we hit the outskits of citylimits and were in the desert, the only thing standing between me and miles of sand and khamseens (sandstorms) were three rather large pyramids and a cat-like man.
Ramone told me all about the history of the pyramids, then before letting me go and take pictures he warned me about the local "business men" that preyed on tourists.
Almost as soon as he turned back to the car a several men came up to me, "Shokran," I said many times (meaning thank you but no thank you) and they slowly realized that I wasn;t wanting any of their trinkets.
I took out my camera and took a few photos, then another man came up to me with a smile, I knew he wanted my money.
"You should be in photo," he said, "I take your picture, you be with pyramid."
I chuckled and responded, "Ah, but you want money for it."
"No no no, I just take your picture," he said and reached for my camera.
I withdrew for a second. He was an older man, it's not like he could take it and run from me, besides military and "tourist police" were standing guard almost everywhere.
"Alright," I said handing him the camera, "but I have no money for you."
"No no money," he said and began to size up the shot. He knelt down and got up almost immedately, "You too close, not see pyramid. Come over to side, you get whole pyramid in picture." He began to walk away, my camera in hand.
I liked the idea of being in a picture with the pyramids, however I knew this man had something up his sleeve.
As we walked, another man came up to me, "Ah sir, you get picture taken?" It was his back up. "You with group?"
"Yes," I lied, "I should stay close stay close."
"Ah yes, you just be over here," he insisted. The other man still had my camera and he charged ahead.
We reached the edge of the pyramid and there were a couple camels standing there. Once again, I knew where this was going.
The man with my camera kept walking past the pyramid, right up to the camel riders, "Ah yes, you get picture here." The other man slapped a flase head garb on me. The man knelt down once again stood up, "You need camel, camel and pyramid for picture."
"No no no," I insisted but the camel was brought over and knelt down.
"Cheese!" the man said and the flash went off... 4 times!
"Now, you give me gift!" Stated the man with the camel, at which I refused. "I give you gift you give me gift!"
"If you give me that camel I will give you a big hug and that will be my gift to you," my humour was lost on him.
"You give me gift, English money."
To be quite honest, I was rather sick of the two men and reached into my wallet to see what I had. It was either a toonie and a 5 or British pounds...I opted for the Canadian. It which they looked at me disgustedly, yet reluctantly relinquished my camera.
I was out of there, the story and the photo only cost me $7CAN...It was almost a steal, plus I kept the head garb which they seemingly forgot about.
I snapped a couple more shots and headed back towards the car.
We drove to the next, slightly smaller pyramid, which I decided to venture inside for the mear price of 50 Egyptian Pounds (about $10 CAN).
It's a rather colstrophobic decent into the middle of the pyramid, at which I was crouching all the way down 35m into the based, which opened out into a cavernous room where the king (read mummy) was kept.
It was amazing, the sheer idea of the calculations, brute force and over all skill it took to build such an amazing stucture. Each stone is exactly the same size, tightly packed together. Thousands of years ago....Blows your mind.
As I snuck out of the pyramid into fresh air, (the air in the pyramid is hot and dry to preserve the mummy,) I reached the surface to find Ramone waiting eagerly with a camel and rider.
I hopped on for 40 pounds and rode a camel for about 15mins. It's a crazy little experiance, do it if you get a chance.
The sphinx was the next stop on our little tour, and again I could go on for awhile, but I'll spare you the details and show you the pictures instead,
So what else is there to see in Egypt you ask, how about the way ancient Egyptians made paper?
Papyrus paper is strong, woven and interlaid. It can be used as paper but is more often used as canvus. It's quite facinating. I bought a couple beautiful pieces.
And then the final sight, The Egyptian National Musuem, no cameras inside sorry, but there are some amazing sights. The Royal Mummies have two rooms. It's crazy to stare at their faces and think they were once living, breathing people who had talked, had thoughts, and in most cases ruled over Egypt.
Caught a train home, walked the half an hour walk home and then off to the church for an African service. The refugees in the area have bible study every Tuesday and Wednesday and start the study with an hour of pure cardio wroship, it amazing.
Finally, after all that, we had youth here tonight which I helped set up for. Quite an awesome youth group, not as good as home, but very good.
Now it's time for bed, off to the schools tomorrow to help out there for wee bit.
Thanks everyone and we'll talk to you soon.
Grace, Peace and Blessings,
Brent
Monday, 30 April 2007
Welcome to the desert...Organized chaos
So here I am, in Egypt, safe and sound.
I arrived last night at 12:30AM local time (10 hours ahead of you back home.)
The plane ride was rather uneventful, minus a crying child and some turbulence here and there.
Flying into Cairo is rather interesting, you can only see the shoreline lit up with lights and just as you think you are past the city, the plane pulls a hairpin turn at 1500 feet and turns back.
The airport is on the outskirts of the city as I'm told and when we walked in a band of Egyptian military men were there to meet us.
I hadn't been told a lot about my stay here in Cairo, I didn't even know who would be picking me up at this uncivilized hour, but I was told someone would be there for me.
After a short walk through the airport there stood a row of men holding signs and I quickly found the one with my name on it. Upon telling him my name he grabbed me by the arm and wisked me over to the "Passport Control Line-up."
He said something in broken English and when I asked him to repeat himself he said "Where is you Visa?".
When I explained to him that I was told I could buy one here, he only grunted, and pulled me back to another room, where he rummaged through a desk until he found to stamps. He licked them and stuck them to my passport then proceeded to drag me back to Passport Control.
"I be on other side," he said and disappeared, leaving me with my passport and a blank stare.
I turned to the white man standing behind me and said to him, "Can you tell I'm new here?"
He just chuckled and looked at my passport, "Ah, you're a Canadian," he said.
I laughed and asked him sarcastically, "Is that a bad thing?" At which he responded with a smile, "Just means we have to stick together."
It turns out he currently lived in Egypt, was born in England and was raised in Ottawa.
We said our good-byes at the desk and I handed my passport to the man behind the class, where upon he stamped my passport and handed it to another woman who scanned it and handed it back to me.
The man who has so forcefully pulled me through thus far was waiting on the other side. "You get bags, then we go," he said and walked me over to baggage claim.
My bag slide down the conveyor belt much to my relief and I grabbed it and walked towards the exit through a crowd a taxi drivers who all very much seemed to think "You need taxi, come to my taxi."
Outside the doors another crowd of people waited and it was there where I spotted another man with my name on a sign.
I hollered to the man who I had thus far been dealing with to stop and he did much to his dismay as he marched back towards the other man.
I introduced myself to the other man and after checking my passport he said, through a heavy accent and with a smile, "Welcome to Cairo, Egypt Mr. White."
I instantly liked him much better and told 'Mr. Forceful' I had found my ride.
They argued briefly in Arabic and then Mr.Forceful went back inside, with so much as looking back when I called after him "thank you."...I never did learn his name.
However, the new, more friendly man was named George and he gratefully took my backpack from me and loaded me on to the bus back to the parking lot.
I talked the best I could to George on the bus, he knew quite a bit of English but it was still a very large barrier.
I asked him if he was the man I would be staying with and he said yes, and proceeded to tell me about his family at home, two sons and a wife.
We hopped in his car and drove, and instantly I knew I was back in Africa, not only was there the scent but also the driving.
There are no rules to the road, people go where they want, when the want. There are no lines on the road so they drive in the centre, on the shoulder and even down the cement divider if they find away (which was demonstrated to me by one man who passed us.)
George heard me chuckle to myself and said "They not drive like this is Canada uh"
I laughed, "No, not at all, I think I would be better at this driving."
We laughed together and he told me about the one time he had been to the US of A and how beautiful it was there. He had not been to Canada.
As we drove he pointed out many things, most of which I nodded to, not fully understanding what he had just pointed too.
I couldn't believe how many people were out and about at 1:30 in the morning.
After about 45 minutes we showed up in Maadi, the wealthy part of town. Down the main street McDonalds, KFC, and other American fast food places lit the way for us.
"You eat?" asked George.
"Not here," here I responded, "I came to get away from this."
He laughed because I did, I don't think he understood.
"You look for building 4," he told me as we turned on to a side street and I did. It should have been my first clue.
After a little while I asked where to look.
"Here, soon," George said with a smile.
We came to a round about and he stopped to talk to a man, he came back and I asked, "You know him?"
"Yes," he said again.
We turned a couple more times and George stopped again to talk to another man and I eyed up a good bush to go to the washroom behind.
A man walked out from behind it and looked at me, almost knowing what I was thinking. I decided I would hold it, besides I didn't want cultures to clash.
George came back and as we drove he started to fret.
"Not this one, not this one, what number is that one?" he would say as we passed buildings.
I started to wonder if George really knew where he was going, it was my second clue.
Finally he hopped out once more for just a moment and came back looking very pleased with himself.
"I know where we now must go," he said.
We pulled up to a building that didn't look so much unlike any of the other.
We unloaded my bags and walked in the lobby of what was and is my apartment building.
The door man asked us where we were going and George looked to me expecting me to answer.
That was my final clue, I really wasn't staying with George at all, once again I didn't have a clue.
George hopped on his cell phone, once again spoke in Arabic, nodded and hung up and then said something to the door man who escorted us into a tiny little elevator.
We stopped at floor 4 and rang the door bell...nothing.
George rang again and a dog barked and something moved...but still nothing.
Finally one more ring from the door man and the door opened, there stood another white man, who had clearly just been woken up.
I introduced myself and he did like wise, "John Miller," he said with an American accent and showed me upstairs to the roof top apartment, George followed.
After showing me around, I thanked George for everything and he left, John got me settled, we shared some stories and then it was off to bed for the both of us, him back down to his apartment and me in mine on the roof.
The last time I looked at the clock it was 2:47 AM.
I awoke at 1 the next day, (I hadn't slept any on the plane so give me a break) dressed and found a note from John's wife on the door, telling me the family was out until the afternoon but to go downstairs and the maid would look after me.
'Maid?' I thought, this was far more then I had expected, here I thought I brought my tent, sleeping bag and mat for good reason but here I am going down to ask the Maid for some food.
Shahair showed me around the apartment and Kerry, (the mother) showed up soon after.
After a brief chat we headed out to the church, where I was finally able to place a face to the name of my contact here in Cairo.
Marcus was not at all who expected him to be. He is a fairly young guy from Oregon. At 24 he manages outreach there at Maadi Church and organizes the several inter and outer church outreach programs there.
After a tour of the two office buildings and meeting almost everyone on staff (20 plus people), we headed out back to my apartment, ducking a dodging traffic as we went.
As I headed into the apartment I was greeted with the sound of clashing swords and the smell of deep fried chicken, that right, fencing and delivery KFC!
My every idea of Egypt was rocked with one sniff of that grease-baked-chicken.
I sat down to a full meal with the Miller family, where upon I told them a little bit about myself and they shared as well.
I got to know the two boys, Lucas and Daniel. Lucas is 15 and is into fencing and softball. He's being taught to fence by the coach of the Egyptian National team.
Daniel is 13 and is witty. He has adapted to his roll as the youngest with a sharp sense of humour and takes advantage of any stab at his older brother. He's a bright kid.
After dinner the boys and I played around with the boys and their plastic weapons and then headed to the softball diamond around the corner with Lucas to watch some games.
It seems to be where the out of towners like to play. It is America's game after all. It didn't feel any different from home, safe the 20 degree dry heat.
I biked home after a couple games, once again dodging traffic by inches.
Now here I sit, typing this epically long blog entry.
Safe and sound and very much comfortable, watching "Broken Arrow" on Satellite television...
I must say my eye have been opened to culture gaps...I mean the movie is subtitled in Arabic.
Please please note the sarcasm!
Anyhow, Wednesday is the pyramids and the Egyptian National Museum, tomorrow is touring the town.
I thank you all once again for your prayers and love and I will keep in touch in much smaller doses from now on.
Grace, Peace and Blessings to you all,
Brent
The view from my apartment:
I arrived last night at 12:30AM local time (10 hours ahead of you back home.)
The plane ride was rather uneventful, minus a crying child and some turbulence here and there.
Flying into Cairo is rather interesting, you can only see the shoreline lit up with lights and just as you think you are past the city, the plane pulls a hairpin turn at 1500 feet and turns back.
The airport is on the outskirts of the city as I'm told and when we walked in a band of Egyptian military men were there to meet us.
I hadn't been told a lot about my stay here in Cairo, I didn't even know who would be picking me up at this uncivilized hour, but I was told someone would be there for me.
After a short walk through the airport there stood a row of men holding signs and I quickly found the one with my name on it. Upon telling him my name he grabbed me by the arm and wisked me over to the "Passport Control Line-up."
He said something in broken English and when I asked him to repeat himself he said "Where is you Visa?".
When I explained to him that I was told I could buy one here, he only grunted, and pulled me back to another room, where he rummaged through a desk until he found to stamps. He licked them and stuck them to my passport then proceeded to drag me back to Passport Control.
"I be on other side," he said and disappeared, leaving me with my passport and a blank stare.
I turned to the white man standing behind me and said to him, "Can you tell I'm new here?"
He just chuckled and looked at my passport, "Ah, you're a Canadian," he said.
I laughed and asked him sarcastically, "Is that a bad thing?" At which he responded with a smile, "Just means we have to stick together."
It turns out he currently lived in Egypt, was born in England and was raised in Ottawa.
We said our good-byes at the desk and I handed my passport to the man behind the class, where upon he stamped my passport and handed it to another woman who scanned it and handed it back to me.
The man who has so forcefully pulled me through thus far was waiting on the other side. "You get bags, then we go," he said and walked me over to baggage claim.
My bag slide down the conveyor belt much to my relief and I grabbed it and walked towards the exit through a crowd a taxi drivers who all very much seemed to think "You need taxi, come to my taxi."
Outside the doors another crowd of people waited and it was there where I spotted another man with my name on a sign.
I hollered to the man who I had thus far been dealing with to stop and he did much to his dismay as he marched back towards the other man.
I introduced myself to the other man and after checking my passport he said, through a heavy accent and with a smile, "Welcome to Cairo, Egypt Mr. White."
I instantly liked him much better and told 'Mr. Forceful' I had found my ride.
They argued briefly in Arabic and then Mr.Forceful went back inside, with so much as looking back when I called after him "thank you."...I never did learn his name.
However, the new, more friendly man was named George and he gratefully took my backpack from me and loaded me on to the bus back to the parking lot.
I talked the best I could to George on the bus, he knew quite a bit of English but it was still a very large barrier.
I asked him if he was the man I would be staying with and he said yes, and proceeded to tell me about his family at home, two sons and a wife.
We hopped in his car and drove, and instantly I knew I was back in Africa, not only was there the scent but also the driving.
There are no rules to the road, people go where they want, when the want. There are no lines on the road so they drive in the centre, on the shoulder and even down the cement divider if they find away (which was demonstrated to me by one man who passed us.)
George heard me chuckle to myself and said "They not drive like this is Canada uh"
I laughed, "No, not at all, I think I would be better at this driving."
We laughed together and he told me about the one time he had been to the US of A and how beautiful it was there. He had not been to Canada.
As we drove he pointed out many things, most of which I nodded to, not fully understanding what he had just pointed too.
I couldn't believe how many people were out and about at 1:30 in the morning.
After about 45 minutes we showed up in Maadi, the wealthy part of town. Down the main street McDonalds, KFC, and other American fast food places lit the way for us.
"You eat?" asked George.
"Not here," here I responded, "I came to get away from this."
He laughed because I did, I don't think he understood.
"You look for building 4," he told me as we turned on to a side street and I did. It should have been my first clue.
After a little while I asked where to look.
"Here, soon," George said with a smile.
We came to a round about and he stopped to talk to a man, he came back and I asked, "You know him?"
"Yes," he said again.
We turned a couple more times and George stopped again to talk to another man and I eyed up a good bush to go to the washroom behind.
A man walked out from behind it and looked at me, almost knowing what I was thinking. I decided I would hold it, besides I didn't want cultures to clash.
George came back and as we drove he started to fret.
"Not this one, not this one, what number is that one?" he would say as we passed buildings.
I started to wonder if George really knew where he was going, it was my second clue.
Finally he hopped out once more for just a moment and came back looking very pleased with himself.
"I know where we now must go," he said.
We pulled up to a building that didn't look so much unlike any of the other.
We unloaded my bags and walked in the lobby of what was and is my apartment building.
The door man asked us where we were going and George looked to me expecting me to answer.
That was my final clue, I really wasn't staying with George at all, once again I didn't have a clue.
George hopped on his cell phone, once again spoke in Arabic, nodded and hung up and then said something to the door man who escorted us into a tiny little elevator.
We stopped at floor 4 and rang the door bell...nothing.
George rang again and a dog barked and something moved...but still nothing.
Finally one more ring from the door man and the door opened, there stood another white man, who had clearly just been woken up.
I introduced myself and he did like wise, "John Miller," he said with an American accent and showed me upstairs to the roof top apartment, George followed.
After showing me around, I thanked George for everything and he left, John got me settled, we shared some stories and then it was off to bed for the both of us, him back down to his apartment and me in mine on the roof.
The last time I looked at the clock it was 2:47 AM.
I awoke at 1 the next day, (I hadn't slept any on the plane so give me a break) dressed and found a note from John's wife on the door, telling me the family was out until the afternoon but to go downstairs and the maid would look after me.
'Maid?' I thought, this was far more then I had expected, here I thought I brought my tent, sleeping bag and mat for good reason but here I am going down to ask the Maid for some food.
Shahair showed me around the apartment and Kerry, (the mother) showed up soon after.
After a brief chat we headed out to the church, where I was finally able to place a face to the name of my contact here in Cairo.
Marcus was not at all who expected him to be. He is a fairly young guy from Oregon. At 24 he manages outreach there at Maadi Church and organizes the several inter and outer church outreach programs there.
After a tour of the two office buildings and meeting almost everyone on staff (20 plus people), we headed out back to my apartment, ducking a dodging traffic as we went.
As I headed into the apartment I was greeted with the sound of clashing swords and the smell of deep fried chicken, that right, fencing and delivery KFC!
My every idea of Egypt was rocked with one sniff of that grease-baked-chicken.
I sat down to a full meal with the Miller family, where upon I told them a little bit about myself and they shared as well.
I got to know the two boys, Lucas and Daniel. Lucas is 15 and is into fencing and softball. He's being taught to fence by the coach of the Egyptian National team.
Daniel is 13 and is witty. He has adapted to his roll as the youngest with a sharp sense of humour and takes advantage of any stab at his older brother. He's a bright kid.
After dinner the boys and I played around with the boys and their plastic weapons and then headed to the softball diamond around the corner with Lucas to watch some games.
It seems to be where the out of towners like to play. It is America's game after all. It didn't feel any different from home, safe the 20 degree dry heat.
I biked home after a couple games, once again dodging traffic by inches.
Now here I sit, typing this epically long blog entry.
Safe and sound and very much comfortable, watching "Broken Arrow" on Satellite television...
I must say my eye have been opened to culture gaps...I mean the movie is subtitled in Arabic.
Please please note the sarcasm!
Anyhow, Wednesday is the pyramids and the Egyptian National Museum, tomorrow is touring the town.
I thank you all once again for your prayers and love and I will keep in touch in much smaller doses from now on.
Grace, Peace and Blessings to you all,
Brent
The view from my apartment:
Sunday, 29 April 2007
London Calling
Losing Battery so we'll make this quick,
Safe and sound in London,
Rather uneventful flight,
Waiting for my gate to Egypt...
Thanks for the prayers.
Grace,Peace and Blessings,
Brent
Safe and sound in London,
Rather uneventful flight,
Waiting for my gate to Egypt...
Thanks for the prayers.
Grace,Peace and Blessings,
Brent
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